Wednesday Evening - Captain Godley's Escape Plan

Good ride tonight. Met Nelson at Scumnervale and we treadled off up into the Thomas.  I led the way up, gasping like a mofo but doing okay, getting the wind back on the flatter spots.  Short rest at the seat (top of zigs) then along the way and into the rock sections.  Nelson cleaned ALL of them!  Remarkable to watch.  Whereas I biffed all of them.  With Nelson in the lead from here, we cleaned up the rest of the trail bar a couple of dabs, my suspension or my fatness was making for a LOT of pedal strike which kept putting me off.  Balance was all out of whack.  

A gale was hitting the gums above Evans when we got there, and this proved to be our lot for most of the way out Godley, a godforsaken wind.  Nelson leading the climb, then giving it to me for the nicely wind-pushed blast down towards Livingston.  I caned this, albeit with some super sketchy moments.  Bit of a fiddle with my rebound settings (not sure I've got it right yet) and off around the back from Livingston towards Breeze Col.  Nelson leading the climb again, and me super wary of pedal strike through here with all that exposure ('specially at the start).  I took lead on the descent, my suspension feeling a bit deader than it had been (settings now out of whack), but a good blast, although the cross wind at Breeze Col was scary with all the speed we were carrying.  

Onto Godley track back up, into the howling gale over the top, then down towards Livingston, bailing over the fence at an opportune spot.  On the road heading around to the (known to us) entrance of the Escape and we see more trail below, so turned back and headed up to Livingston Col proper finding a newly marked out zig then zag back towards the rest of the trail.  Nice rolling through here, me in the lead and man what a long downhill.  Minutes and minutes went by as we descended and still we were high up.  Trail nothing to write home about, no tech, but still fun.  On the switchbacks, coming back around into the wind proved pedally, but mostly gravity was sufficient to keep some speed on.  Down into the valley and a nice blasty tailwind down to the carpark.  Fast.  

Finally, up the sodding road, grind grind grind over Scarborough, but wasnt so bad.  Then dropped into Nicholson park dropping down the rooty steep (which really wasnt as bad as I recalled), steppy zig and zag on Flowers, then the access way out to Whitewashhead Rd, bombing back down and cruising up Sumner back streets to the cars.

All told, nearly 17 kms and nearly 600 m climbed.